Of Hate, Love, And Jealousy
by moonfaerie326
Summary: Tag to Friends & Lovers What does one do when they end up with the wrong person? When they know that something feels off but they can’t figure out how to correct it.


**Summary: Tag to Friends & Lovers. Slightly changed to fit this fic – the main one is John Carson does not die. :] What does one do when they end up with the wrong person? When they know that something feels off but they can't figure out how to correct it.**

_Italics ­–_Is flashbacks.

_**Bold Italics** – _Are things that occurred before Tony was present.

Tony should have seen it coming, he really should have. The signs were all there, the flirtation, the secret looks, the interrupted moments. He hadn't realized anything would come from it, he thought they would vanish when the case was over, but it seemed to draw them together if anything.

_Tony passed Ziva on his way to Metro P.D's car, he couldn't help but to say something to her, to draw her attention to him, the way he liked it. She had smiled at him, and he'd watched as her gaze drifted from his after only seconds of holding eye contact. He followed her gaze, only to watch as Detective John Carson swiveled to watch her pass, he was obviously checking out her form. Tony couldn't help the feelings that swelled within him but he didn't know the cause._

Tony grimaced at the memory. Once he and John had made it to the car he hadn't exactly been the nicest person. He didn't think anything of it though, chalked it up to the fact that it was never pleasant to find a dead Petty Officer. But things kept happening throughout the case, things that would make his mood turn sour real fast.

_Tony stood standing in the interrogation room, trying to ignore the fact that Detective Carson had stood further back then Ziva and himself, and yet he was closer to Ziva. He stood glaring at the window in front of him; trying to keep his concentration in tact and not let his feelings distract him. That concentration was quickly broke at the sound of Ziva's voice._

"_What do _you_ think Detective Carson?" Ziva questioned. Tony couldn't quell the happiness that surged through him at her formal tone._

"_It's, um, it's John." Tony could feel the nervousness rolling off the man in waves, but he didn't blame him, Ziva could be quite intimidating. "Love the accent by the way. It's Israeli right?" Tony glares at him, knowing now that the nervousness was the way he played the game._

_He feels the urge to poke out John's eyes when he hears Ziva chuckle. "Not bad." She commemorates, appreciation in her tone. "Most people do not recognize it." Ziva then looks him up and down with her eyes taking in the man before her._

"_I took a vacation there a couple years ago-"_

"_Back to the question." Tony states, a bit harshly before he has to listen to John go on and on about his vacation in Israel, and how Ziva should give him a tour sometime. He'd heard it all before, he's said it all before._

_-_

_After hearing what John had to say the observation room went quiet, taking in the way Gibbs played the suspect._

"_It's almost unfair. Interrogating junkies." Tony comments dryly, hoping to earn a chuckle out of Ziva._

"_It's like shooting fish in a pond." She states with a smile._

_Tony opens his mouth; ready to correct her in the way he always does before he is beaten to it. "I think you mean a barrel." John states, a slight lilt in his voice._

_Tony's eyes widen slightly as he takes in his partners raised eyebrows. "Why would fish be in a barrel?" She questions, half turning to face the both of them._

_John laughs more at that, and Tony then realizes he finds her slipups endearing, not hilarious, "That's a good point. I never really thought about it before." _

"_Mhm." Ziva hums out smugly, a smirk gracing her features. _

_That is when Tony begins to hate Detective John Carson, but he merely thought that it was because he was on a different team then he was. He thought it to only be a simple rivalry. _

Tony shifts uncomfortably, not knowing what his unease is from, but his sleep is wrought with restlessness, it is a light sleep, but a sleep nonetheless. And memories continue to assault him.

_**  
"Should we call the paramedics?" Detective Carson questions, a small smile playing on his lips.**_

"_**No need." Ziva rebuttals. "If they fight, it will be to the death." She turns to look at him with a tiny smirk on her lips.**_

"_**Is that so?" John questions, stepping closer to Ziva's desk all the while.**_

"_**It is, indeed." Ziva answers, sitting forward in her chair a bit.**_

_**John leans over Ziva's desk, his hands on top of the desk, as he gets closer to Ziva's face. He stares into her brown eyes, almost drawn in by the spark he sees in them. **_

_Tony grumbled the entire way up the stairs, Gibbs had decided to use the Elevator as a office again, and as he bursts into the bullpen he can feel his anger increase. Gibbs had left Ziva alone with _him, _and that should not have happened._

_He takes in their positions and can't stop the words from slipping past his lips, "Boss using the elevator as an office again?" He's glad he made his presence known as he watches them lurch apart._

_--_

"_Not hot enough."_

"_That true?" Tony questions. He had a feeling that that wasn't the case, he'd seen some of Metro P.D's finest, and did he mean finest._

"_No. Someone seems to be tipping off the boss." John's voice is bitter, and Tony knows the feeling. Once this case is wrapped up he will no longer have to be in John's presence, and that means he won't have to deal with these unwanted feelings._

"_What's going on boss?" Tony questions as Gibbs comes bursting into the van._

"_We're going in." Gibbs states simply, and Tony sits up straighter._

"_You got a warrant?" Tony questions, and he sounds eager to get inside the club._

"_No. We got someone rich and famous." _

_Tony watches, his jaw dropping at the sight that greets him. His eyes trail up the bared leg, up to the short skirt that covers her form. They follow the line of her body taking in the dress that hugs her curves and the makeup that adorns her face. She looks amazing, and Tony is sure he is drooling._

"_Whoa." He hears John mutter to his right, and he ignores him, memorizing the sight in front of him. "None are that hot." Tony barely recalls their earlier conversation, but when it finally comes to him he silently agrees._

"_McGee?" Tony questions, incredulous and slightly jealous. _McGee gets to have Ziva hanging off his arm!?_ Tony's mind rages._

"_Not McGee. Thom E. Gemcity."_

_--_

Tony's restless mind seems to ease, but not because he's sorted through his thoughts, it is because he can easily recall Ziva in her clubbing outfit and it automatically begins to put his mind to rest, until his mind moves on once again without his permission.

"_Did _we_ hit her?"_

"_No." Tony stated, relieved that they had not killed the woman, but sad that she did not make it. "Looks like he broke her neck."_

"_Good." John states, the same emotions swirling through him. Tony then turns to him, only to see him fall heavily to the ground his breathing labored._

"_John!" Tony shouts, rushing over to the prone form on the ground only to see the bullet-sized hole in the detective's shirt. "Help!" He hollers out, all previous thoughts about John as a person flew out the window._

_John continues to gasp for air, and Tony's panic slowly ebbs away as he takes in the fact that no blood is coming out of his wound._

_Slowly John's breathing returns, and he utters one word through labored breaths. "Vest." _

_Tony can't help but grin. "Of course."_

_Ducky quickly arrives at the scene, collecting the dead bodies and checking over Detective Carson. Before Carson's been fully okayed by Ducky Ziva and McGee come out of the building followed closely by Lee and Abby._

_They all come across Ducky before they reach him, and Tony watches as Ziva talks to John, his eyes taking in everything like a hawk. "Are you alright?" Ziva questions._

"_I will be, if you go out to dinner with me." John puts on a charming smile, but Tony knows that that won't work. He's worn that same smile more times than he can remember in front of Ziva, and she has never once fallen for it._

_When Ziva accepts, Tony finally begins to realize why he hates Detective John Carson so much._

_-_

Tony could no longer stay in his fitful sleep with that image in his mind. He kept seeing Ziva and John at dinner, and then Ziva and John _after _dinner, they plagued him. "No." Tony murmured as he woke up, his eyes remained closed. Denial always served him well.

"No?" A voice questioned, and Tony's eyes popped open, his vision swam momentarily before coming to focus on Jeanne who hovered a few feet away. It is then that Tony realizes he's been huddled on her couch.

"Dream." Tony murmured his voice thick with sleep, and something he doesn't care to let Jeanne in on. It's something that he will keep hidden from her, and he will hide it from himself as well.

**Would you like more? Or are you satisfied with the way it is? :] I liked this; it's been on my mind for a while. I didn't plan the Tony being on Jeanne's couch while thinking of Ziva part, but as I wrote it that thought just kept looking more and more appealing. :]**


End file.
